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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Organizing STUFF...

Okay so one of my biggest problems as a teacher is where to put all the stuff: supplies that are being used, extra supplies, manipulatives, center stuff, and I could go on and on. I think this is a problem most teachers have. One advantage I have over some is that I can not stand clutter, so if I don't use it or have not used it recently it's not in my room. Here are just a few ways I organize stuff!

My favorite purchase ever is the 9 cube organizing shelf. Please ignore the two shelves to the left and the right, it is my classroom library. I am still in the middle of swapping over my theme. (to the left was my theme if you are wondering exactly which colors I used). I use these to store all extra supplies that I receive from the students, as well as any extra I may buy when things go on sale. For example, I put extra pencils, extra crayons, extra colored pencils, glue bottles (we don't use them often, I prefer glue sticks), rulers, headphones (for listening centers), highlighters, and so on. Keep an eye out at Target for both the shelf and storage cubes to go on sale. The shelf is worth the money, it does not budge, as compared to other 3 to 5 shelf systems.

Now of course I have to label them, so here is what I do. I use the plastic name tag holders and clips! Easy enough. You can make your own name tag to place inside or just use the sticker names tags, label, and slide them right in!

You can get these as Office Depot or even Wal Mart, they come vertical and horizontal

Attach these to the badges, and clip them on the handles

The sticker name tag labels I used in my room.

Okay my next favorite piece of organizational item is my picnic utensil caddy! I love these. I have used them two ways: one put them in the middle or on a middle desk of a group, or place them on a shelf near a group. Using these really cuts down on the students have to dig in their desks or get up and go to a location that you keep supplies in. I use to have a teacher assistant pass out supplies as I needed them, but that also go to hectic and took forever. I have the students store their scissors, glue sticks, hand sanitizer (one bottle for each group, I am a germ-a-phobic), and anything else we use on a regular basis. If you want to use these in your room, you better jump on it! They are considered seasonal. I found mine at Hobby Lobby and plan to add some ribbon around the edges. Target does have some metal ones, but they are limited in supply and color...and are on sale right now! You can also find plastic ones that are similar, but those are usually for the bathroom (college dorms) and don't have the right amount of space for supplies.

The complete/not complete are actually letters from the teacher store. The library tags are simply name tag stickers again from the teacher store. But keep an eye out and I'll do a freebie for the other ones that I made.